Thursday, February 26, 2009

Euroleague Top 16: Part II

We're now 2/3 of the way through the Euroleague Top 16 round-robin, and CSKA Moscow, featuring Terence Morris (1997-2001), and Panathanaikos, featuring Sarunas Jasikevicius (1994-98) and Drew Nicholas (1999-2003), are both in the driver's seat of their respective groups.

CSKA was 2-0 through their first two games, but in game 3, they dropped their first game of the round, losing 78-56 to Montepaschi Siena on the road. Terence Morris was the only CSKA player to score in double digits, getting 10 points and 8 rebounds. But in the rematch back home in Moscow, CSKA turned things around, beating Siena 95-71. Morris had 10 points (3/4 on 3-pointers), 3 boards, and 3 assists. CSKA is now 3-1 and in first place in group H, with 2 games remaining.

In an interesting side note, I found CSKA's coach's blog, where I learned that Terence only plays in Euroleague games for CSKA, because the Russian Superleague has more stringent rules than Euroleague limiting the number of foreign players on the roster for domestic league games.

Meanwhile in Greece, Panathanaikos blew out Lottomatica Roma 92-67 in game 3 at home. Drew Nicholas led the team with 11 points and 4 steals, while Sarunas Jasikevicius had 9 points and 5 assists. In the game 4 rematch, Panathanaikos went on the road to beat Roma again, 90-71. Nicholas scored 15 points (5/6 on 3-pointers), while Jasikevicius scored 14 points. With the win, Panathanaikos moves to 4-0 in group G, and clinches a berth in the quarterfinals.

Check back in two weeks for the next update at the end of the Top 16 round.